Using a map of Alaska and the table below, have students chart the 1925 Serum Run, carrying the diphtheria antitoxin from Anchorage to Nome in a dogsled relay race. Note the names of the mushers on each leg of the trip.

Point out that while Kaasen's lead dog, Balto, was memorialized for his achievement, Togo had braved merciless cold and traveled a total of more than 350 miles, far more than any other sled dog, on this life-saving journey. Ask if this lack of recognition makes Togo less of a hero. Share the story of Akiak, another dog who has run the Iditarod. Discuss what Robert Blake means in his Epilogue when he writes, "...the hero is not always the dog who crosses the finish line first, but, as in this case, the dog who made the last lap even possible."

In commemoration of the intrepid men and the hard-driving dogs in the 1925 Serum Run, the Iditarod (The Last Great Race) is run annually from Anchorage to Nome. Dog teams of 12 to 16 dogs and their mushers cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days. Even though there is team competition, this race is less about winning and more about survival, and is not officially over until the Red Lantern, the very last team, makes it to Nome. Have students role-play journalists covering this event to write an article for The Tundra Times, a local Alaskan newspaper.

The Penguin Group is the second-largest English-language trade book publisher in the world. The company possesses perhaps the world's most prestigious list of best-selling authors and a backlist of unparalleled breadth, depth, and quality. Penguin Young Readers Group features books by authors and illustrators including Judy Blume, Brian Jacques, Eric Carle, and beloved characters like Winnie-the-Pooh, Madeline, The Little Engine that Could, and many, many more.

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Dork Diaries Teaching Guide This teaching guide for the popular Dork Diariesseries from Rachel Renee Russell covers the first 12 books, with tips and advice on how to incorporate these tales of middle-school survival in the classroom.